the other day, i was in the middle of prayer, and i asked god... what can i possibly offer you? i have nothing to give. you have everything. you are the creator of the universe. you are perfect and complete. you power is magnificent and infinite. what do you want from me? what do you need from me?

i heard a voice, still and small. can god worship himself? can god obey himself? can god thank himself? can god love himself?

god gave me the gift of life and the capacity to love. he also gave me the choice and freedom to rebel and reject his love. he wants my praise, obedience, and gratitude. it must be given freely, voluntarily and sincerely. it must be given with love, or it has no value.

i WANT to worship, obey, and thank my creator,

because i LOVE him, i want to please him. because i FEAR him, i accept his correction. because i TRUST him, i take his direction. following the rules becomes a pleasure. my duty becomes my desire.

MATTHEW 6“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

LUKE 11“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Does Jehovah hear every prayer? The Bible mentions several attitudes and actions that undermine the power of prayer:

Psalm 66Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Isaiah 59Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.

Proverbs 28 If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.

Isaiah 29The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

Luke 18To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men --robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

James 4You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Hebrews 11Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

James 1If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Isaiah 1When you spread out your hands,I will hide My eyes from you;Even though you make many prayers,I will not hear.Your hands are full of blood.“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.Cease to do evil,Learn to do good;Seek justice,Rebuke the oppressor;Defend the fatherless,Plead for the widow.“Come now, and let us reason together,”Says the Lord,“Though your sins are like scarlet,They shall be as white as snow;Though they are red like crimson,They shall be as wool.If you are willing and obedient,You shall eat the good of the land;But if you refuse and rebel,You shall be devoured by the sword”;For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

LUKE 11Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”So He said to them, “When you pray, say:Our Father in heaven,Hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.Your will be doneOn earth as it is in heaven.Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins,For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.And do not lead us into temptation,But deliver us from the evil one.”

Remember in scripture God promises He will finish the work He has begun in us. Also Psalm 91 vs. 14 through 16: 14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” NIV Student Bible

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ļæ½We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.ļæ½ - Plato

there is a book called "experiencing God" it is old but probably available still Henry Blackaby is the author. in that book he outlines 7 realities. number one is God is always at work all around us. the second is this: God desires a CONTINUING love relationship with us that is REAL AND PERSONAL.It helps me to remember these truths when my feelings get so dark and I feel alone. The fact is God is working on our relationship even while I can't seem to reach Him. That amazes me and gives me hope.The almighty one is working to get to me, to restore the years the locus have eaten. And HE rejoices over me with singing. So hard to believe, amazing to understand. Way too much for me but it helps. I hope it helps you too.Jeff

Edited by newground (03/03/1405:16 PM)

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Either I will find a way, or I will make one.Philip Sidney

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